Don’t say Islam is violent, part 1,359

Fresh from this evening’s France2 newscast (available until 2PM tomorrow; see Tribune sur l’islam: menaces contre un professeur de philosophie), Robert Redeker, a 52-yr old philosophy professor wrote an op-ed article in Le Figaro stating that Islam is violent, and denounced the violence in the Koran.

After receiving several death threats in the mail, Prof. Redeker and his family have had to go into hiding. The police are taking the threats very seriously. Expatica has more details.

The Tunisian government on Wednesday banned the sale of French newspaper Le Figaro in reaction to a column in the paper alleging that the Muslim holy book the Koran instigates violence, an Tunisian official reported. The author of the Tuesday commentary further opined that Muslim reaction to a recent speech by Pope Benedict XVI indicated that Muslims wanted to curtail freedom of speech in the West.